RMT EXPOSES JOB CUTS WILL LEAD TO UNSTAFFED TUBE STATIONS

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: november/december 2010 :: RMTnews 7 RMT EXPOSES JOB CUTS WILL LEAD TO UNSTAFFED TUBE STATIONS Transport for Lies Support the fight for Jobs and Safety on our Tube A leaked internal London Underground document has confirmed that Transport for London’s claim that they have no plans for unstaffed stations as a result of the cuts is a total lie. The leaked document was specifically on the subject of problems with station announcements to passengers in the current climate of cuts and admits that stations will be “left unstaffed from time to time”. However, a TfL spokesman had claimed: "London Underground's future staffing proposals will continue to mean safe stations staffed at all times and all stations with a ticket office will continue to have one” - a statement directly contradicted by the leaked document passed to RMT. The memo from manager Paul Kilius-Smith, dated July 30, deals with cash cutbacks to the Tube's public-address system which allows broadcasts to be made from a central point to stations which do not have the facility to do so. These are meant to keep passengers and train drivers informed of disruption and delays to services. Mr Kilius-Smith states that a "number of risks" have been identified in deciding which parts of Long Line PA were to suffer "de-activation". "There are a number of stations across the network which is (sic) left unstaffed from time to time. "Where this is the case without LLPA there is no audible means of providing service disruption information to customers on platforms." This, he warns, may happen "more frequently". There could also be problems in contacting the train driver, he says, and "this could exacerbate a delay". RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that once again TfL had been caught out lying about the service and safety impact of their station staff jobs cuts plans. “They have repeatedly told the public that they have no plans to run unstaffed stations and yet this communications report shows that that is exactly what they are planning for. “There is no way that on an unstaffed station they will be able to communicate with the public in the event of an emergency or pass on service information. “Unstaffed stations are a muggers’ and vandals’ paradise and the mayor has promised that there will be no unstaffed stations. “It’s about time they told the public the truth about their cuts plans,” he said. MPs joined a chorus of calls for TfL to reverse plans to cut 2,000 Underground jobs. Hayes and Harlington MP John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn, Islington North MP, put down an early day motion against the proposals that have already been denounced by the Greater London Assembly and London TravelWatch. Around 11,000 RMT and TSSA members across the network have taken strike action amid growing cross-party consensus that cuts in safety- critical Tube jobs are a serious and potentially fatal blunder. HOUSE OF COMMONS EARLY DAY MOTION 920 That this House condemns the Mayor of London's proposals to cut 2,000 jobs on London Underground as a serious mistake which will damage passenger services and undermine safety; notes that he has broken a 2008 campaign pledge to defend local ticket offices and that his proposals have been denounced by a cross-party vote in the London Assembly; commends members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, pensioner groups and transport campaigners in seeking to defend the Tube as a vital public service; acknowledges London Travel Watch's severe concerns that the cuts will be keenly felt among the elderly and disabled who rely on help to buy tickets; worries that the job losses will lead to increased maintenance problems, more delays for passengers and increased risks as rigorous safety standards are reduced; believes these cuts would leave passengers feeling less secure and staff less able to cope in emergencies; and calls on the Mayor, as Chair of Transport for London, to withdraw the proposals and to agree with the unions' reasonable and safe staffing levels right across the London Underground network to ensure that passengers continue to receive excellent service. John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn